Love Isn't Free
by mangocat2
Summary: Laven   TykixAllen Allen is Lavi's slave. Allen hates him. Lavi likes him. Tyki is jealous. Not one-sided for long! :3
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: **I will tweak this, but the idea for this story goes to EdwardElricAllenWalker. Thank you so much for helping my writer's block!

A sweaty hand pushed Allen into a large, high-ceilinged room. It was more of a barn than a room though. Allen slowed his pace to take things in when the same hand violently pushed him again.

"Keep movin' runt!" The burly owner of the hand snapped. Allen coughed, the man's breath reeked of smoke.

_So this is my fate. Abandoned on the streets and sold into slavery. Anything could happen, or nothing could happen. It's not up to me. There isn't even a way out, _Allen thought.

Allen miserably looked down at his shackles. He was shoved onto a platform in front of a pit of potential buyers. The white-haired boy scanned the crowd. Men in suits, _respectable _men, _buying _him. There were a couple of younger men too, not much older than Allen himself, who was about fifteen.

_They look like they want to get this over with. I can't say I blame them._

Some were already being bought. The crowd diminished as slaves were led out by their masters.

_That man with the top hat looks like he has a lot of money. _Allen surveyed the remaining customers._That guy looks really mean. Oh, but that one-_

Allen was interrupted by talking in his ear, then someone started to unbutton his shirt.

"Wait, hey!" Allen yelled in surprise. He felt eyes on him and saw a red-headed boy he hadn't noticed earlier. Allen blushed and started to button his shirt up again.

"Yes, he's a cute one!" The boy gave a hearty laugh.

"What?" Allen yelled in disgust. The boy threw his hands up.

"Chill out, 'kay? What's wrong with a little compliment?" He threw some money at the man next to him, grabbed Allen's hand, and dragged him out the door.


	2. Plumbing and Perverts

After the pair had traveled farther into the dry summer heat, Allen yanked his hand out of his new master's.

"Don't just lead me around like a child, I don't have anywhere else to go," Allen said bitterly.

"What happened to your attitude?" His tone lost all earlier friendliness.

"What are you going to do with me anyway?"

"You'll see," the boy closed his eyes.

_No, that's not right. He's winking._ As for eyes, Allen noticed that the red-head only had one.

"What happened to your eye?" Allen inquired.

"What happened to your face?" came a rude retort. Allen put his free hand to his left cheek.

"Uh, nothing," he stuttered.

"Same."

Allen looked at the the grimy streets around him.

_It's a bleak world isn't it? Not even the sun is shining. _Allen turned his attention to the boy pulling him along. He obviously had less money than the other men at the auction. He was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, white pants, and brown knee-high boots.

"What's your name anyway?" Allen asked roughly.

"Don't have one. You can call me Lavi though."

"I'm-"

"Allen Walker, 168cm., 58kg. and British. I'll have you know, I love accents."

"What the-how do you know all that about me?" Allen said in shock. Lavi winked again.

_Okay, this guy is scary. It seems like he's had a dark past, and he knows all this stuff. Not to mention, he keeps winking at me. There were some crazy people on the streets, but Lavi takes the cake._

"Here we are." Lavi stopped in front of a two story brick apartment situated on a street of identical buildings.

"So you live here?" Allen asked in awe.

"Yep!" Lavi dragged Allen inside and slammed the door behind them.

_And he has some crazy mood swings._

Lavi's apartment was a dump, to say the least. It was tiny, dusty, the walls were cracked, and the floor felt like you would fall into the basement if you stepped on it too hard. A leaky pipe was dripping water onto a mound of books on a rickety desk.

"Aargh!" Lavi yelled and shoved the books to the floor. "Fucking landlord needs to fix that!" he stormed.

"So where am I sleeping anyway?" Allen piped up.

"With me, of course! That's why I bought you. Not to mention, there isn't really enough room for another bed." Lavi scratched his head.

_If that's the case, I hope he doesn't have lice or something. _Allen looked Lavi over and groaned inwardly. _He's filthy anyway._

The other boy caught Allen staring at him.

"Ever since I bought you, you've been analyzing everything. But I'm a hell of a lot cleaner than this apartment." Lavi laughed, but stopped at Allen's reproachful look.

"On the contrary, you should clean up, I don't want a hobo in my house."

"A hobo? You can't even call this a house!"

Lavi ignored Allen's comeback. "I wish I could say I have a proper shower, but this apartment is too small. There is a hose out back though."

"You want me to wash my self in your back yard?" Allen winced at the thought.

"There's a fence, and I don't share it with the guy upstairs or anything."

Allen walked through the back door sullenly, towel in hand. If Lavi's apartment was small, his yard was smaller. The white-haired boy spotted the hose to his right.

_He wants me to use this? You can't even drink this water. I shouldn't complain though, I don't remember ever having a proper bath or anything. I didn't have a house either, so a dingy apartment isn't that bad. The bad part is living with Lavi._

Allen turned on the water and took off his clothes, a white button-down, gray pants, and black knee-high boots. He almost yelped, the water was ice cold.

_No wonder that twat is so dirty._

Allen was about to wash his snow white hair when he felt eyes on him. Allen whirled around, but all he caught was a swift movement behind a loose fence board.

_Creep._

"Hey Allen, you done yet?" Lavi's voice came from the doorway. Allen dropped the hose in surprise and sprayed the freezing water in his face.

"Bloody hell, I'm not done yet, Lavi!" Allen yelled. Lavi ignored Allen's nakedness and walked into the yard. Allen wrapped the towel around his waist and blushed furiously.

Lavi laughed. "And you're still cute!" he yelled happily.

"I, uh, go away," Allen said quietly.

"Why would I miss out on this?"

"You're a pervert, no, you're sick."

"I know." Lavi laughed manically. Allen would've jumped over the fence if he hadn't been wearing nothing but a towel.

"Can I go inside now? I think someone was watching me earlier."

Lavi slid out of the way, gestured to the door, and bowed. "You may." Allen practically ran inside, Lavi followed him.

"Wait, I forgot my clothes!" Allen made a move to go outside but Lavi stopped him.

"I'll get them, 'kay?"

_And now he's being really friendly. These mood swings will take some getting used to. But Lavi said I'm cute! And I was only wearing a towel. Does he have a crush on me or what? Did he only buy me because I'm "cute"? Ugh, what a creep._

Lavi threw Allen's clothes at him and set his boots on the floor. Allen waited for Lavi to leave and was relieved when he did.

When Allen was done, Lavi came back.

"Why do you have so many books?" Allen asked. All meager free space was taken up by a bookcase, and all occupied space was littered with books as well.

"I spend practically all my time reading, mostly history. It's fascinating! Definitely more interesting than my boring life. And that's why you're here. I'm just a poor, single, nerdy guy. So I wanted some _companionship_." Allen winced at the emphasis Lavi put on companionship.

"So you're gay and horny?"

Lavi paused, and then burst out laughing. "It sounds like a disease when you put it that way! You're so cruel sometimes, Allen."

"But it's true right?"

"You never had friends did you?"

"Why do you say that? That's not very nice yourself."

"Because you really lack social skills."

"_You _have them?"

"I just said that you didn't! This isn't really going anywhere, maybe some dinner will lighten you up." Lavi grabbed Allen's hand again and, once again, pulled him out the door.


	3. Food Isn't Free

Lavi dragged Allen down the street in the opposite direction from where they came. Allen stumbled over the uneven bricks and was almost trampled by a horse.

"Are we there yet?" Allen yelled.

"Yep!" Lavi answered and abruptly turned onto another street. He finally slowed his pace and led Allen to a cafe.

"This place looks pretty nice," Allen remarked.

"I guess, I've never actually been here before." Lavi picked out a table by the window and pulled Allen's chair out for him. Allen gave him a quizzical look and sat down.

"Just being a gentleman," Lavi said enthusiastically.

"So what kind of stuff do you like to eat?" he added.

"I don't know, I've never been to a restaurant, all I've eaten has been bread and yoghurt and stuff."

"Why don't you just get a sandwich?" Lavi flagged down a waitress and they ordered.

"Can you really afford all this?" Allen asked.

"Can you even eat all that?" Lavi returned the question. "Just a sandwich" turned into enough food for a family.

"Haha, living on the streets was hard because of my appetite," Allen said.

"You have a lot of quirks. Speaking of that, I didn't ask you earlier, but why does your arm look like that? And what's with the scar?"

Allen's good mood disappeared. "It's not your bloody business."

"What if I tell you about myself? Then will you open up a bit?"

"Fine," Allen said. He still didn't trust Lavi, but he was the first person to be nice to him.

"My parents died in a house fire when I was three. After that, I was sent to live with my grandfather. He's kind of schizophrenic though so I ran away. I was kind of a drifter for awhile until I bought my apartment."

"What is a skit-zo-friend-ick anyway?"

"It means someone who's crazy."

Lavi caught Allen staring at his eye. "Oh, I got in a fight. The patch is only until it heals, I don't want people thinking any less of me than they already do."

"Sounds like you've had a pretty crazy past too."

"Yeah," Lavi said nostalgically. "So tell me about yours then."

"Um, I don't really want to," Allen said quietly.

"C'mon, a deal's a deal!"

"Uh, well, my parents abandoned me because of my arm. Then my stepfather, Mana, adopted me. My memories of him are so vivid, but then, he really meant a lot to me. But, well, he died."

"I'm so sorry," Lavi said.

"Yeah…" Allen was on the brink of tears.

"If you want to stop you can," Lavi suggested.

"No, it's okay. Anyway, it turned out that I had a godfather, so he 'adopted' me next. But I was more his servant than his son. He had all these insane debts that I had to work to pay off."

"That sounds horrible! Is that even legal? And what about the scar?"

"I think it is, unfortunately. I wasn't making enough money so he sold me into slavery to pay off his remaining debts. This really crazy guy bought me and branded me with this pentacle-thing."

"He must've been really possessive or something. And for the record, that _isn't_ legal," Lavi cut in.

"Yeah, I think he had this twisted crush on me too. He even tried to molest me but I ran away. And…that's it."

Lavi stood up abruptly and yelled, "Who does that fucking guy think he is? Where does he live? I'll punch his lights out!"

Allen tried to calm Lavi down. "I don't know, I haven't seen him in months anyway."

"Oh," Lavi sat down, embarrassed.

"Well I'm done, you wanna go back home?" he asked Allen.

"Uh, sure."

The waitress came over to take their money, and, Lavi started flirting with her.

"What are you doing?" Allen whispered in Lavi's ear.

"Relax, this always works." He was right.

Allen ignored Lavi on the walk home.

_Sure, just use your charm to be a freeloader. He reminds me of Master. Ugh, I feel sick now._

"Allen!" The white-haired boy hadn't noticed that Lavi was waving a hand in his face. Allen swatted it away.

"What?" he snarled.

"Chill out, we're just home. Why did that bother you so much? We got a free meal!"

"You remind me of Master." Lavi let them into his apartment. Allen noticed that he didn't lock the door.

"Oh really?"

"You two are insane."

"Maybe, but at least _I _take care of you."

"Hardly."

Allen had already walked into the living room when he became aware that Lavi wasn't following him.

"I might not have much money or a nice house, but I'm trying my best. Okay? Considering what you've been through, you don't have a right to complain. So just SHUT UP ALREADY!"

Allen sensed the hurt in Lavi's voice, but he didn't really know what to say. However, the sudden confrontation made Allen uncomfortable. He wasn't very good when it came to people. Allen felt his face go hot, he was on the spot and he didn't know what to do. In his flurry of thoughts, Allen didn't notice the soft kiss planted on his cheek and Lavi whisper "Sorry" in his ear.

**Author's Note: **I'm sorry this chapter is so late! I've been busy…and lazy. I'm also sorry these chapters are so short, that's something I'll try to work on!

+Lavi's such a freak. 3


	4. Al and the Rabbit

The overcast sky quickly faded into a deep gray-blue, and then it was dark. Though Lavi lived in a fairly dense neighborhood, there weren't very many lights. Allen curled up in the far corner of the couch and watched Lavi wander around as he lit oil lamps. When he was finished, there was an ample amount of light. For once Allen was glad Lavi's apartment was small. The warm glow from the lamps made Allen feel drowsy and he couldn't help a slight longing to curl up next to Lavi. The old sofa was hurting his back.

_Why did he kiss me earlier? _Was all Allen had been thinking for the past couple of hours. Allen was still trying to determine whether he liked Lavi or not, and the kiss didn't bring the answer any closer. But for the time being, Allen had been trying to ignore Lavi as much as he possibly could. But he felt horrible anyway.

"Hey Allen?" Lavi asked worriedly. "You okay?"

Allen just couldn't do it any longer. "Um, why did you kiss me earlier?" The white-haired boy still blushed from thinking about it.

Lavi smiled, relieved that Allen was talking to him. "Why not? I thought I had offended you or something'."

"Don't you think it's a bit weird to kiss someone you just met?"

"Aww," Lavi pouted. "But we know each other so well already."

"Not enough to kiss!" Allen still couldn't shake the feeling that he was hurting Lavi somehow.

"Oh, I'm sorry then. But you're so damn cute!"

Allen hit Lavi playfully. "Shut up."

"Owww," Lavi whined.

"Come on that doesn't hurt, Rabbit."

"Rabbit? Yay, I like nicknames!" the redhead said excitedly. But why Rabbit?"

"Dunno, maybe because you're bouncy like one?" Allen shrugged and stood up.

"Good idea, it's getting late for someone who has to go to work tomorrow."

Allen almost laughed, Lavi never seemed to act his age. "You work?"

"'Course! I work at the library. Doesn't pay much, but it's probably the best job ever."

At first Allen was going to question why working at a library would be considered "fun", let alone someone who would probably be kicked out in under two minutes. But then he remembered that Lavi's house was full of books.

"So you like reading?" Allen ventured.

"Honestly, I'd be nothing without it. Learning about the secrets of the past and reading about imaginary worlds is so fascinating!"

"Really?" Allen blushed, too embarrassed to tell Lavi that he couldn't read. But his worries were interrupted by a large yawn.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired too. You never showed me your, er, our room." Allen corrected himself.

"I knew I was forgetting something!" Lavi led Allen down a short hallway branching off from the living room.

In keeping with the rest of Lavi's property, his room was tiny. There was a bed in the corner, but it was really like the center of the room. Across from it was a small closet with more books spilling out of it. Allen almost jumped for joy at the thought of a proper bed, but that would be out of place. Not to mention the chilling thought of sharing it with someone. The thought of meeting Lavi only a few hours earlier and now sharing a bed was a bit off-putting.

"The bathroom is just across from here if you need it. And, uh, that's about it." Lavi trailed off awkwardly. He took off his boots, hurled them across the room, and flopped onto the bed.

Allen followed suit, instead sitting gingerly on the bed as if it would snap under his weight. He let out a yelp of surprise as Lavi pulled him down next to him. The white-haired boy slapped the offending hand away and rolled over, his back to Lavi.

"Will you stop doing that?" Allen said angrily, still oblivious to Lavi's feelings. The redhead sighed but didn't make any further advances. There was a long period of silence and Allen thought that Lavi must've fallen asleep, so he was startled when the redhead spoke.

"I'm really sorry, Allen," he said, in a much more serious tone.

"For what?" Allen asked sleepily.

"For making you feel all uncomfortable today. I mean, this whole experience must be really hard to go through and I'm just making it worse. If you don't like me then we can just be friends. I won't be offended or anything."

Allen gulped, he was on the spot again, and, despite Lavi's words, he was sure a rejection would hurt. Besides, Lavi was being nicer than anyone else ever had. Also, his energy was definitely contagious. The white-haired boy also felt like he hadn't given Lavi a single chance to be friends. Allen sucked in a deep breath.

"Don't worry about it, Lavi. I like you too." Allen rolled over to face Lavi, who had a cheshire cat grin.

"Awww, I thought you did, Al!"

"I guess a nickname means I have your approval?"

Lavi laughed. "Sure. I just think Al is a cute name for you."

"I guess it's cuter than Rabbit. Sorry about that, but I think it fits you."

"Nah, it's a perfectly cute name. Besides, having a cute nickname isn't very manly anyway."

Allen tried to stifle a laugh, but he failed.

"Anyways, good nigh, Al."

"Night, Rabbit."

Lavi kissed Allen softly on the cheek causing the white-haired boy to blush. Allen snuggled next to Lavi, whose warmth was making him sleepy.

_Maybe that' s why he kissed me. I guess I don't really mind. _Allen thought.

**Author's Note:**

Sorry for such a long wait! But I'm on spring break now so I have a lot more time.

FLUFF! Everyone loves fluff. But I think this was too cheesy. XD


	5. Awkward

DDDDDDDDDD: X Over 9000! I haven't updated in months! I'm so sorry, but life is, well, life, and as much as it doesn't seem it, I do have one. So I'm sorry, but here's the next chapter… *FINALLY!*

Allen woke up early the next morning. He was pretty sure it was early anyway, the sunlight was still pale and the room was pleasantly cool. Allen's eyes flew open when he realized he was actually a little chilly. He rolled over and saw that Lavi wasn't in bed next to him. In his place was a yellow-y piece of paper. Allen picked it up and automatically felt his heart race. He forgot to say that he couldn't read! What if something had happened and Lavi needed to tell him something important? But then Allen remembered that Lavi must have gone to work.

_How early does the library open?_

Allen went to put the note down and saw a ten guineacoin lying on the filthy mattress.

_Does he want me to take it to buy food or something? Or did it fall out of his pocket? He'll be mad if I just take his money._

Allen found that with he and Lavi on good terms he was nervous about upsetting the redhead. The blue-eyed boy felt his stomach angrily rumble in hunger so Allen set to seeing if Lavi had any food around.

It turned out that Lavi's apartment didn't have much in the way of a kitchen. Sure, there was a stove-covered in books. Allen tried to clear them off but found one volume too heavy to lift. All the snowy-haired boy could find was a loaf of bread with suspicious green dots all over it. Allen took it out of its bag and nibbled around the mold. He felt better-enough to think anyway, but was still hungry.

_What exactly does Rabbit eat anyway? Or drink? Paper and ink perhaps. _Allen laughed to himself.

And the rest of Allen's day was primarily spent cleaning up the obscene amount of books, but eventually he couldn't bear his hunger anymore so he took the money and went to the neighborhood cafe. It was a pleasant day, much better than the previous, and Allen enjoyed eating outside. Towards the end of his meal he felt awkward, like he was being watched. The same feeling as when he was washing himself in the backyard. Allen quickly payed for his food, a little disappointed he couldn't flirt for it in case the money wasn't for him. As Allen walked back to the apartment he still felt uneasy, heightened by the fact that he heard footsteps behind him. The white-haired boy picked up his pace, and it was matched. Allen spun around to see who his stalker was. His blue orbs caught the dark-skinned man's golden ones. They were all too familiar.

"Tyki!" Allen spluttered and tried to run away. The Portuguese man easily caught up.

"Fancy seeing you here, sweetie," he said in a voice dripping with venom. Allen tried to squirm his way out of Tyki's arms but failed against the man's impressive strength.

"That scar looks great on you. Really brings out your hair." Tyki's hands started inching from Allen's middle to his waist. He yelped and tried to push them off but couldn't. Above Tyki's icy breath in his ears, Allen heard running footsteps approaching them. Very familiar footsteps.

"Al!" a certain redhead yelled.

I do believe I gave you a cliffhanger. :3

Really it's because it's 3:00 in the morning andI have to go to a festival tomorrow so I should probably go to bed. XD


End file.
